Couples urged to put relationship, children first

Archbishop Paul Cremona said work was eating into couples' time and warned them that their relationship with one another and with their children should not make do with leftovers.

Couples' roles have changed. Before there were just two jobs: one went out to work and the other took care of the family. Now they had to juggle with three jobs: both of them worked and they had to share the family's responsibilities.

Speaking at a seminar on work and family, Mgr Cremona said family stability was of paramount importance for children. While everybody rightly spoke about the importance of employment, family stability was also good for the economy.

In the past, people used work to live but gradually many have started living to work. A new culture was also seeping in: working to have more money to spend. This area had to be discussed further and Caritas, for example, had started a group to promote better management of the family's budget.

Delving into the fact that 37 per cent of women held a job, Mgr Cremona said it was important to think of the remaining 63 per cent who chose to stay at home. This was a choice that he would not go into.

However, Mgr Cremona questioned how free such choice was when no one was thinking of those women who might have had careers, which they had to leave through great sacrifice. Shouldn't the contribution of these women also be recognised, he asked.

"I put the question: Would those who opted to look after their family without taking an outside job receive any remuneration?"